1970s

China has long lent giant pandas to the United States as a gesture of goodwill, a practice dating back to the 1970s following President Nixon's historic visit to Beijing. The animals have often served as barometers of bilateral relations, with loans renewed or withdrawn as ties warm or cool. Coverage is revisiting this history amid ongoing discussions about the future of pandas in American zoos.

Michigan's beverage container return rate has dropped to 69.4%, according to local reporting from ClickOnDetroit. Retailers are now pushing to overhaul the state's decades-old bottle bill, which requires deposits on cans and bottles. The decline in returns has revived debate over whether the 1970s-era law needs modernization to boost recycling and ease the burden on stores handling redeemed containers.

Angie Dickinson, the American actress best known for starring as Sergeant Suzanne 'Pepper' Anderson in the 1970s series 'Police Woman', is celebrating her 95th birthday. Outlets are marking the date with retrospectives on her career and her reputation in old Hollywood, including reports that she turned down romantic advances from several of the industry's most famous leading men.

Renato Vallanzasca, the notorious Milanese criminal of the 1970s, is back in Italian true-crime talk with a story about the Fiat Uno Turbo, nicknamed the 'scatoletta infernale' or little infernal box. The anecdote describes a shocking encounter he had with the car, mixing memories of Milan's underworld with nostalgia for the era's street racing icon.

A new article revisits the origins of the first-person shooter genre, arguing it began not with Doom but with two largely forgotten computer games from the 1970s. Gamers and history enthusiasts are sharing and debating which early titles truly deserve credit for pioneering the genre's first-person perspective.

A new feature traces how classical music shaped the sound of classic rock, highlighting the composers, structures and arrangements that influenced rock musicians of the 1960s and 1970s. Readers of music history publications are discussing the classical roots behind familiar rock songs and the artists who borrowed from orchestral tradition.

A memorable quote from Francis Ford Coppola's 1974 thriller The Conversation is circulating among film fans: Gene Hackman's surveillance expert Harry Caul reflecting that he knows nothing about human nature. Movie enthusiasts are sharing the line as a tribute to Hackman's restrained, defining performance in one of 1970s cinema's most acclaimed paranoid thrillers.

Players are sharing their results from the daily Heardle Super 70s music quiz, which challenges fans to identify a 1970s song from short audio clips. One participant managed to recognise the band by the final tries, admitting the group was never a favourite. The puzzle, numbered 1139, continues to draw a small but regular crowd comparing scores and song knowledge.

A controversial 1970s science fiction film directed by Stanley Kubrick is now available to stream on HBO Max. The film in question is widely understood to be A Clockwork Orange (1971), which drew heavy criticism on release for its depictions of violence and was withdrawn from circulation in the UK by Kubrick himself for decades. Its arrival on the streaming platform is prompting renewed discussion of the film's legacy.

The classic American sitcom Good Times is drawing attention in entertainment coverage. The 1970s series, centred on the Evans family in a Chicago housing project, remains one of the most recognisable shows of its era and continues to attract commentary decades after it went off the air. Details of what specifically prompted the renewed interest were not provided.

BBC Radio 6 Music's Craig Charles show has played Tammy Wynette's song "No Charge", according to an automated now-playing playlist update. The track, a country ballad from the 1970s, is also listed in the show's Spotify playlist. No wider commentary or audience reaction has been recorded around the play.